THE brother of gang shooting victim Charlene Ellis has been jailed after driving at high speed to escape a group of men threatening to kill him.

Nathaniel Ellis, whose 18-year-old sister was shot dead in Aston at a New Year party in 2003, along with her 17-year-old friend Letisha Shakespeare, told Birmingham Crown Court he had been trying to get away from a black car that had been chasing him.

Ellis said the people in the car were friends of someone who had shot him seven months earlier, in August last year.

He said he had received phone calls threatening to "finish him off" and "do things" to his family.

Yesterday, Ellis was given a 12-month prison sentence after admitting dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

Ellis, 25, of Wheeler Street, New-town, Birmingham, was also banned from the roads for three years.

Passing sentence, Recorder John Edwards said he had taken into account a letter written by Ellis's mother which documented the "deep trauma" he had suffered since January 2003.

He said he also appreciated the efforts Ellis was making to get himself and others "out of the dreadful culture that blights this city of guns and gangs".

The judge said he had also taken into account that Ellis had been in fear when he was initially pursued by the people in the black car, but went on: "This was a relatively high speed chase on a busy Saturday afternoon in a busy part of this city."

Ian Speed, prosecuting, said that in March this year officers on mobile patrol travelling along Alma Street towards Lozells saw a Ford Mondeo being driven above the speed limit by Ellis.

They pursued the vehicle over a short distance during which the defendant went through three red traffic lights and struck the bumper of a car in front.

The chase ended when the Mondeo hit another vehicle and Ellis was arrested a short distance away after trying to flee from the scene.

David Payne, defending, told the judge that Ellis had become "entangled" with the seedier side of gang mentality and as a result there had been certain incidents involving his family.